Collecting You
by BitterSweetTeller
Summary: Even with a renewed sense of hope, can a crew that has faced oblivion be reunited? A oneshot sequel to Silver Lining. Rated K plus for suggestive content.


Collecting You: A Star Trek Voyager Fanfiction Story

Side note: If you haven't seen Voyager's episode Course: Oblivion and my Voyager fanfiction Silver Lining, please do before reading this oneshot fanfiction. It'll make a lot more sense this way...since this is after both.

Over the course of several months, on the Demon class planet…

On the surface were many scattered small blobs of silver blood, absorbed back into the planet's very unusual life force. Separate yet interconnected consciousnesses echoed a past state of thought from within the planet. Day after day, month after month, some of these complex thought patterns fully returned to the surface through physicality. Most returned to being pools of silver blood, between full physicality and mindlessness. But with what the silver blood is capable of, this was not set in stone.

At present day…

Now as a collection of gathered up blobs, what is left of a certain silver clear blob fills the whole cave from within. A few feet outside the cave entrance are the now fully regenerated silver blood duplicates of Harry Kim, Seven, and a small handful of random Voyager crew members. The Harry Kim and Seven silver blood duplicates have grayish black colored Starfleet styled environmental suits on. Both environmental suits are attached to what looks like a Voyager control panel by three very long yellowish green bungee cords. Duplicate Harry turns to the very few random duplicate crew members behind him, "Silver Blood remains stable?"

One of these random duplicates reports, "only for fifteen minutes, Mister Kim." Both random duplicates are standing behind the control panel in the midst of the very harsh and dust like climate of the Demon class planet. Duplicate Harry very uneasily looks at the cave entrance that started their existence and the troubles that came with it, then turns to duplicate Seven.

Noticing the fear in duplicate Harry's eyes, duplicate Seven comforts him with her hand in his, "we will succeed…as one." Duplicate Harry nods.

He sighs hard, "it's now or never."

The other random duplicate adds, "we'll pull you back at the first sign of trouble."

Duplicate Harry reasons, "understood." The silver blood duplicates of Harry Kim and Seven run into the cave up ahead, taking more and more of the seemingly endless bungee cords with them.

A few minutes later, within the silver clear remains of the duplicate Voyager…

Duplicate Harry and duplicate Seven interestingly find themselves back in the surprisingly intact Mess Hall of their Voyager, without environmental suits on. Beyond its windows, there is nothing but blurs of light going past this Voyager. Flames are being put out by environmental systems with the temperature creepily getting colder and colder every few seconds. Duplicate Seven figures in partial confusion, "I thought most of our Voyager's decks were lost."

Duplicate Harry reminds her, "we used to just be connected to the planet…" A unconscious but otherwise seemingly restored duplicate Neelix is lying on the floor. Seconds later, duplicate Neelix's body breaks down into pure silver blood and is absorbed into the floor below. Duplicate Harry reflects a little shaken, "now we're reconnected with our friends. That is, if any of…"

Suddenly, a wave of jumbled thoughts comes down on duplicate Harry and duplicate Seven, "B'Elanna! B'Elanna or not…! That would be… Oh, the hell I….!" They clutch their heads in reaction.

Duplicate Seven points out, "our friends…are not as one."

At the same time, at the cave entrance…

The first random duplicate realizes a little uneasy, "their life signs…are fluctuating. We should…" With one hand, he reaches for two buttons near each other on the control panel.

The second random duplicate urges with her hand briefly pulling his away, "no. Only if our Voyager's remains decay with Mr. Kim and Seven inside will we pull them back."

The first random duplicate sighs a little, "yes, ma'am."

At the same time, in another section of what remains of the duplicate Voyager…

In a corridor just outside of a duplicate Main Engineering, a revived in spirit duplicate B'Elanna with a phaser in hand is running from some familiar faces emerging from the floor. The lower half of the resurfacing bodies bulge and bend as clear silver liquid becoming human like again. A restored in appearance duplicate Tom surprisingly calls out in concern, "B'Elanna! You can't kill us!" He alongside seemingly revived duplicate Chakotay are coming toward duplicate B'Elanna from behind her. From the other direction, three more silver blood bodies in good condition are coming down from the ceiling.

Duplicate B'Elanna chuckles creepily, "oh, the hell I can't! This is all just a neural aftereffect of cellular deterioration…and I'll be putting up one hell of a fight until it's gone." She turns the corner into Main Engineering, firing at duplicate Tom with her phaser at the same time from behind. A shocked duplicate Tom gets his side hit before he can avoid the phaser blast. The automatic door closes behind duplicate B'Elanna.

He clutches his phaser wound in pain as it starts to drip clear silver drops around his silver blood fingers.

Duplicate Chakotay turns to duplicate Tom, "Tom!" Duplicate Captain Janeway, the duplicate EMH doctor, and duplicate Tuvok fully materialize in front of duplicate Chakotay. The automatic door to Main Engineering begins to be fused shut by concentrated phaser fire from a teary eyed duplicate B'Elanna on the other side of the door.

The duplicate EMH doctor starts to urges, "I know you took B'Elanna's deterioration hard, but…!" He simultaneously presses a hypospray on duplicate Tom's injured side, which transforms into a fully healed silver blood body part.

Duplicate Tom interrupts him with a groan while being healed up, "B'Elanna or not...she's gone mad! We have to convince her before…!"

Duplicate Tuvok tries to point out, "that would be…illogical."

Duplicate Seven points out, "our friends…are not as one." She and duplicate Harry start to rematerialize from above and fully return to humanoid form among embodiments of uncertainty and hurt. The other duplicates outside of their Main Engineering sense duplicate Seven and duplicate Harry's thoughts and appearance.

Duplicate Captain Janeway chuckles a little uneasy, "I suppose you can explain later."

Duplicate Harry adds with a small sigh of disorientation, "right. If…all of us are getting out of here, we have to..."

Duplicate Seven concludes, "think peaceful thoughts." Duplicate Captain Janeway almost adds something, but decides against it with partial inner amusement.

Duplicate Chakotay points out very uneasily with a hard sigh, "yes, but it's hard to do when Kathryn had to let me along with many of us deteriorate into Voyager's atmosphere before seeing reason!"

Duplicate Captain Janeway argues coldly, "we all know this place is only in our bio-mimetic DNA, but who's really us…and who's really not us?" She aims her phaser at duplicate Chakotay, but duplicate Tuvok sends her to unconsciousness with his phaser before she can fire at duplicate Chakotay. Duplicate Captain Janeway's body gets absorbed by the floor, with most of everyone stunned at what happened.

Seconds ago, when duplicate Captain Janeway was about to take out duplicate Chakotay…

Duplicate Chakotay was motioning in thought to duplicate Tom to aim at duplicate Captain Janeway in an attempt at a surprise attack of his own, just in case. But, with both realizing they were beaten to it, they sighed a little in partial relief and slightly lowered their phasers. Duplicate Harry and duplicate Seven were starting to faintly realize their friends' thoughts, and so let the matter resolve itself since duplicate Captain Janeway was not going to be deteriorated by either duplicate Tom or duplicate Tuvok.

Seconds later…

Duplicate Chakotay says in response to duplicate Tuvok's split second decision, "it just got a lot easier. Let's go."

Duplicate Harry adds, "one step ahead of you." He and duplicate Seven use their phasers to blast the fused automatic door to pieces. Duplicate B'Elanna starts to head into a Jefferies tube.

Duplicate B'Elanna mutters to herself nervously, "it'll all be over soon."

Back at the cave entrance…

The second random duplicate realizes, "five more minutes to go."

The first random duplicate remarks with a chuckle, "don't have to tell me twice."

Within the duplicate Voyager…

Duplicate Chakotay and the other duplicates with him come into Main Engineering, with duplicate Seven checking Main Engineering controls first thing. Duplicate Chakotay figures, "B'Elanna was closest to you. Maybe you…"

Duplicate Tom chuckles bittersweetly a little, "see you on the other side." He phases himself through the floor as silver blood liquid, going after duplicate B'Elanna. Duplicate Tuvok and the duplicate EMH doctor are scanning around Main Engineering with their tricorders. Duplicate Harry suddenly grimly picks up on what duplicate Seven was getting at.

Duplicate Tuvok reports, "we have nothing to report, Chakotay."

Duplicate Seven starts to point out, "on the contrary…"

Duplicate Chakotay turns to her, "what did you…?" He realizes then what the silent countdown on the Main Engineering control panel duplicate Seven is looking at meant.

Duplicate Harry reveals, "self destruct is going to go off in three minutes…"

Duplicate Seven adds in mostly held back frustration, "and the warp core controls are reprogrammed to set off the self destruct earlier, no matter what I could activate or program." Her Borg like tubules were also linked to the Main Engineering control panel all this time, until she retracts them seconds later.

Duplicate Chakotay reasons, "then get ready to eject this warp core at the last second. That should buy us all enough time to focus on peaceful thoughts."

Duplicate Harry figures very uneasily, "if Tom knows what he's doing."

Duplicate Seven points out, "if anyone can talk to B'Elanna now…"

Duplicate Harry concludes, "it is Tom. I hate to admit it, but you have a point."

Duplicate Seven adds, "thank you, Harry. I should focus my thoughts on timing now." This has duplicate Chakotay briefly look at duplicate Seven in confusion and amusement.

Duplicate Chakotay wonders, "Harry?"

The duplicate EMH doctor uneasily starts to check, "how long were we…?"

Duplicate Harry points out, "once we get out of here, I'll explain everything."

The duplicate EMH doctor sighs a little, "very well."

At the same time, in a certain Jefferies tube…

Duplicate B'Elanna gets to a junction before duplicate Tom materializes in front of her. She reacts with a lot of built up sadness and anger from the many thoughts flooding her mind, "don't come…any closer!" Duplicate B'Elanna simultaneously aims her phaser at duplicate Tom again while opening a manual operated hatch door in the junction.

Duplicate Tom concludes, "all right! All right. I know this is overwhelming for you. Hell, it's overwhelming for me too. But if you want to go to an escape pod that isn't real…I'm not stopping you." He tosses away his phaser and backs up a little. This leads to duplicate B'Elanna's then great uncertainty and worry while slightly lowering her own phaser.

She presses with a small uneasy chuckle, "all right. What is our honeymoon?"

Remembering all too well when duplicate B'Elanna deteriorated before him in Sick Bay, duplicate Tom sighs hard, "the historic…Graystone Hotel, downtown Chicago, 1928." Duplicate B'Elanna almost goes wide eyed, but instead starts crying into her unarmed hand.

Duplicate Tom tries to comfort her, "I'm the one who's sorry…for everything." He steps up somewhat close to duplicate B'Elanna.

Duplicate B'Elanna wonders as she starts to calm down, "what have you got to be sorry about? You were there for…!"

Duplicate Tom sighs hard again in reflection, "later, B'Elanna. Right now, we should think back to better times."

Duplicate B'Elanna starts to inquire, "like Chakotay…?"

Duplicate Tom assures her, "like Chakotay said." They hug each other bittersweetly, waiting for what comes next.

Almost a minute later, at the cave entrance…

The second random officer realizes somewhat shaken, "at this rate of deterioration…we can't pull them out."

The first random officer points out with interest, "maybe we won't have to." Their sensor readings are indicating that the silver blood blob in the cave is to at least some degree reverting back into a collection of small blobs, which get absorbed by the Demon class planet. A few small blobs pull down with them two certain sets of bio-mimetic bungee cords, which also get absorbed by the planet. But before all of the small blobs could be absorbed, one small blob starts a rapidly decaying chain reaction that causes many other small blobs around it to deteriorate into nothingness. The first random officer concludes solemnly, "scanning for…life signs."

The first random officer asks uneasily, "only…eight?"

The second random officer sighs hard, "afraid so. Our Voyager, the rest of our people…gone."

A few hours later, back in the cave…

The intact main crew members of the duplicate Voyager are sitting around the refilled pools of silver blood, except for the duplicate EMH doctor who is taking a bit longer to regenerate. Duplicate B'Elanna isn't sitting near anyone, and duplicate Chakotay and duplicate Captain Janeway aren't sitting near each other. Duplicate Chakotay reflects, "so when our Voyager was on a crash course for home…"

Duplicate Harry points out, "we bonded: Neurally and molecularly."

Duplicate Tom chuckles bittersweetly a little, "talk about falling head over heels."

Duplicate Harry wonders, "are you going to be ok?"

Duplicate Tom sighs hard, "I'm sure it would be better for the planet if I stayed deteriorated…but I'll manage."

Duplicate Chakotay points out, "you helped us bring B'Elanna back. And in time…maybe she'll come back to you."

Duplicate Tom reflects solemnly, "maybe."

Duplicate Captain Janeway sighs hard, "how could I have doubted Chakotay? How could I have doubted my second thoughts…when they were right?"

Duplicate Seven points out, "when I was recovering from being Borg, I made a lot of personal errors because I was not sure what to think anymore. Should I continue to be like Borg, or begin to become an individual?"

Duplicate Captain Janeway tries to argue, "but we never assimilated others or were assimilated ourselves, Seven. That is a big difference."

Duplicate Seven explains further, "perhaps, but the same process applies to discovering that we are biologically bio-mimetic copies of Voyager's crew."

Duplicate Captain Janeway reflects with a small bittersweet chuckle, "perhaps in time then…we'll discover ourselves."

**The End…Or The Start of Spin Off Fanfiction?**

**Please Feel Free To Comment On Or Continue This Storyline**


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